By  Elena Voropay

The hunger struggle in the in the land of plenty has taken the U-turn in the past decade or so. Now we know that the feeling of satiety is far more complicated than a full stomach. Researchers have discovered a cocktail of hormones that control our appetite, or how much we eat. The most recently discovered hormone, known as PYY3-36, is responsible for the feeling of "fullness" controling the amount of food consumed. Levels of the hormone rise when you're stuffed, and remain high for the few hours between meals.

PYY3-36 is thought to work on the same nerves in the hypothalamus as a 'hunger' hormone called ghrelin secreted by the empty stomach cells. Another hormone, leptin, acting over the long term, triggers appetite when fat stores run low. Will 'hormone feeding' solve obesity? Not necessarily. Hormones can be overridden by the conscious decision to eat, which is influenced by food's taste, our expectations and emotions.Therefore, the bottom line is the choices we make in our lifestyle patterns and habbits that form with them.

Can we naturally limit our appetite when 'eyes are bigger than the stomach'? Bulky, fibrous foods such as vegetables and whole grains, stimulate the release of more PYY3-36 than fast foods. The reason here is that undigested fiber moves further down the gut, while sugars from candy bars are mainly dissolved in the stomach. Therefore, we are proving (again!) what our grandmothers knew long time ago - whole unprocessed foods are better at keeping your slim figure in shape. In other words, eating particular types of food could help to tell the brain that you are full and also prevent overeating.

References

1. Batterham, R.L. et al. Gut hormone PYY3-36 pyhsiologically inhibits food intake. Nature 418, 650 - 654 (2002).